Police find skull of person in submerged car in Detroit River

WYANDOTTE – At about 11:30 a.m. Friday police announced they have recovered the skull, arm bone and identification of the person found in a submerged car in the Detroit River on Thursday afternoon.

While not conclusive until dental records and other evidence is examined, police are confident that the remains are that of Thomas Daniel Lange of Lincoln Park, reported missing since Dec. 30, 2003.

Police Chief Daniel Grant said divers from the Downriver Search and Recovery Team began searching for the missing body parts at about 10:30 a.m. and in a very short time made this important discovery.

The headless remains were found when police and firefighters pulled a 1999 black Mercury Sable from the river behind the Wyandotte Boat Club after being told by a recreational diver a week earlier that he discovered the car during a recent excursion.

Lange, who was 30 years old when he disappeared, was last seen at the Wheat & Rye Steak House in Allen Park. Grant said he was reported as a missing person and the case was investigated by Lincoln Park police.